Patient support assemblies, such as hospital beds, stretchers and the like, as well as the various devices used therewith, such as side rails for instance, etc., are very well known in the art.
Known to the Applicant are the following Canadian patents and patent applications which describe different patient support assemblies, such as hospital beds, stretchers and the like, as well as the various devices used therewith: 1,223,702; 1,227,389; 1,227,907; 1,240,806; 1,247,805; 1,254,704; 1,255,453; 1,259,453; 1,266,752; 1,275,433; 1,279,443; 1,294,576; 1,308,626; 1,308,866; 1,332,652; 1,336,783; 2,020,880; 2,042,768; 2,045,308; 2,051,841; 2,055,671; 2,055,672; 2,085,866; 2,107,057; 2,120,312; 2,122,515; 2,122,686; 2,145,851; 2,145,982; 2,164,028; 2,172,397; 2,175,608; 2,176,064; 2,181,021; 2,185,530; 2,189,046; 2,192,033; 2,193,612; 2,193,613; 2,223,851; 2,234,903; 2,242,320; 2,258,197; 2,296,497; 2,308,324; 2,321,297; 2,327,361; 2,329,185; 2,331,806; 2,337,994; 2,348,553; 2,348,826; 2,364,064; 2,366,551; 2,394,754; 2,403,379; 2,408,342; and 2,422,823.
Also known to the Applicant are the following US patents and patent applications which also describe different patient support assemblies, such as hospital beds, stretchers and the like, as well as the various devices used therewith: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,506,989; 3,932,903; 3,958,283; 4,345,344; 4,463,463; 4,509,217; 4,747,171; 5,063,623; 5,394,580; 5,604,942; 5,689,839; 5,732,423; 5,802,636; 6,038,721; 6,163,904; 6,219,864 B1; 6,389,622 B1; 6,393,641 B1; 6,396,224 B1; 6,397,416 B2; 6,486,792 B1; 6,499,162 B1; 6,519,794 B1; 6,560,492 B2; 6,564,404 B1; 6,640,360 B2; 2002/0095724 A1; 2002/0144350 A1; 2003/0051291 A1; 2003/0093860 A1; 2003/0106151 A1; and 2003/0167568 A1.
A significant problem associated with some of the side rails used with the above-mentioned prior art assemblies is that they are constructed in a very complex manner making them difficult to assemble and/or install onto a corresponding patient support assembly, such as a hospital bed for example, and also making them very cumbersome and unsafe to operate between raised and lowered configurations.
Another significant problem associated with some of the side rails of the above-mentioned prior art assemblies is that as a result of their bulky design, the side rails when operated from a raised to a lowered configuration often need to be deployed or swiveled outwardly from the sides of the hospital bed, in a direction transverse to the bed itself, that is, taking up a great radius of operation curvature, thereby requiring the operator of the side rails to be positioned at a substantial distance from the bed, which is disadvantageous for obvious reasons known in the art.
Another significant problem associated with some of the side rails of the above-mentioned prior art assemblies is that for most side rails, when operated into the lowered configurations, they are swiveled and/or lowered to the bottom side portion of the bed, thus taking up and blocking a lot of the space normally accessible beneath the patient support platform, thereby preventing an operator of the bed from positioning equipment therein and/or enabling the base structures of neighboring accessories, such as a wheeled base of a side tray for example, to be positionable under the patient support platform due to the presence of the side rails when in the lowered configuration.
Another significant problem associated with some of the side rails of the above-mentioned prior art assemblies is that due to their inherently complex construction and design, their components cannot easily be modified to adapt themselves to the ongoing changes in the governmental guidances and standards for the assessment and implementation of bed rails.
Another significant problem associated with some of the side rails of the above-mentioned prior art assemblies is that due to their inherently complex design and construction, the operation of individual side rails, and/or pair of side rails may pose unwanted hazards to patient safety, particularly in regards to the risk for entrapment, which is very undesirable for obvious reasons. This holds particularly true for the population at risk for entrapment which are generally patients who are frail or elderly or those who have conditions such as agitation, delirium, confusion, pain, uncontrolled body movement, and the like. It has been found that the risk of entrapment generally increased due to technical issues regarding to bed rails and other components of patient support assemblies, such as hospital beds and the like.
Therefore, in view of the above, there is a definite need for an improved side rail which, by virtue of its design and components, would be able to overcome some of the aforementioned prior art problems.